Life Of Reilly
by Pixel Katana
Summary: Short story in the form of a diary, inspired by the leader of Reilly's Rangers' in-game digital logbook. One-shot story, some OCs present to flesh out the tale. Set after the death of Theo and Donovan's departure from the Rangers. Rated T for some violence and sex references.


**I've been considering writing this piece for a while, as I loved Fallout 3 and Reilly's Rangers were one of my favourite groups of characters. I like the idea of a rag-tag mercenary outfit. So here it finally is, a little piece for any of you Capital Wasteland wanderers out there!**

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07-24-2277

Brick killed someone else today. I swear, one of these days I'm going to make her go out on a raid with a rifle, not that bloody minigun. The guy was just trying to barter with us for some bullets. Shame he had to go for Butcher's throat when I declined. Butcher would probably have let him off with the broken nose he gave him but no, 'Eugene was getting bored!' Or at least that's what Brick claimed after eviscerating him. Oh well.

07-25-2277

The mapping of Washington DC is still going, albeit not swiftly. Brick spends more time blasting mutants than the rest of us, but our client seems satisfied with the rate at which we're gathering the data. The youngster from the Vault gave us some good map details, but he's long since vanished off into the Wasteland. Apparently travelling back to Megaton, then further north. Good luck to him. Shame he didn't want to stick around after Theo bit the bullet in the New Statesman and Donovan gave up on the merc business. Poor guy didn't take Theo's death well. I knew they were close.

Butcher appears to be maintaining a professional relationship with me. That's a relief.

07-26-2277

07-27-2277

07-28-2277

Back from a two-day trek through the Metro, from Chevy Chase to the Farragut Metro station on the DC outskirts. Progress was slow – ferals every step of the way – but we got through mostly unharmed. Brick took a graze to the chest from a Glowing One, but I think she'll live. Took three doses of RadAway to get her back on her feet, but then she killed nine ghouls with her bare hands, so I'm hopeful. Admittedly she was screaming bloody murder the entire time, but she's a tough one. She's exhausted now – so are the rest of us, in fact. Sleep was not an available commodity. The trip was fruitful, though: not only did we map a large section of the tunnels, but we also snagged a decent amount of sealed food cans. It's mostly beans, but still, better than nothing. We're saving the tinned sausages for a celebration, although I'm not sure when that'll be. Or what that'll be.

07-29-2277

Brick spent most of today in bed recovering. Butcher was concerned about the wound getting infected, but it looks like the radiation poisoning is more of an issue. We're running low on supplies in general, so I made a lone foray back into the Our Lady Of Hope hospital. Managed to find some medical equipment and painkillers, but nothing else that might help with the radiation. Brick thanked me anyway. The hospital was mostly empty since the Vault kid cleared it out, just a handful of Centaurs wandering the halls. Nothing a faceful of buckshot didn't take care of.

07-30-2277

Brick's condition is getting worse. We're already down a man after the incident in the hotel, so I told Butcher to put out some feelers, looking for new recruits. As much as I don't like the idea of another new guy on the squad, if Brick bites the bullet we're going to need some new blood. I trust Butcher with my life, but the two of us won't be enough.

He didn't seem happy about it. Followed my orders anyway. We haven't fucked in over a week.

07-31-2277

Butcher found a recruit. He's ex-Enclave, which wasn't a good start, but he's been working as an independent agent for the Rivet City security force and seems trustworthy enough, plus he knows the ruins well and he's good with a laser rifle. Rather money-obsessed, but that's hardly a negative feature in our line of work. Name's David Cairne. I'm thinking it over.

Brick didn't wake up today. Butcher told me she's stable but not in a particularly good way.

08-01-2277

First expedition in two days. I took David out for a run towards the Washington Monument, got into a shootout with a gang of Super Mutants along the way. One firefight with him at my side and I know he's not Ranger material. He would probably have taken a hammer to the skull if the Brotherhood soldiers guarding the monument hadn't waded in to provide support. I haven't seen a mutie take a .308 round to the face for a while, brightened my day no end. Told David he wasn't the type of guy we were looking for and left him with the Brotherhood. When I left he was trying to persuade them to let him sleep in the tower for the night.

Brick's still out cold. I miss her voice, in an odd way. I can tell Butcher's as worried as I am. We slept together again tonight. I cried for a bit afterwards. Unfamiliar feeling, that.

08-02-2277

No raids today. Brick woke up briefly, murmured something about darkness and then blacked out again before we could feed her anything. I dug out some packets of soup and prepared it cold, trickled it into her mouth. She looks weak, pale. Butcher is still hunting for an extra body. No luck so far.

08-03-2277

An eventful day. Butcher had gone out on a raid of the local storefronts when Brick sat bolt upright in bed and screamed out that she was going to kill someone. I had just about subdued her when he returned. I'm confident she'll make a full recovery: she's still weak, but she's staying conscious and walking around the compound. We refused to let her sleep with Eugene in bed beside her.

Additionally, Butcher found another potential recruit. His name is Carver, though whether that's a surname or a nickname I have no idea. He's a former Regulator who got out of the business after taking a bolt of plasma to the leg, but he's an excellent shot and claims to have experience working as a quartermaster. Short black hair, piercing blue eyes. Walks with a limp, unsurprisingly.

08-04-2277

Brick continues to improve. She hasn't left the compound yet, but I'm starting to get concerned that she'll beat the shit out of one of us if we don't go on a group raid soon. Went shooting around Vernon Square with Carver. He's a gruff individual, not so much measured like Butcher is but instead simply a man who only speaks when it is necessary. He's a born soldier. I watched him blast a Centaur in two with an assault rifle before lobbing a grenade into one of the mutie's bolt-holes and blowing them to bits. I agreed to let him join the squad on decreased wages, pending a rise depending on merit.

We shared the sausages today. Carver stated quietly that he hadn't eaten in six days and I crumbled. Brick was pleased.

08-05-2277

Big raid today. We travelled to Chevy Chase, then on to the GNR building, to trade with the Brotherhood forces set up there. They have bullets, equipment and food all stockpiled up, but since they don't leave the area very often they have to rely on supply drops and trading for water and meds. Butcher and I carried water tanks drawn from the basin and purified; Carver had offered to carry the medical equipment we didn't need. Didn't meet much resistance beyond a handful of extremely displeased Talon mercenaries. Brick took on the entire squad. Carver was going to lend a hand but I could tell she needed it. She thanked me on Eugene's behalf. The scene at the GNR base was carnage – apparently it had been sieged by Super Mutants a few days ago, and a Behemoth had killed an unlucky Initiate.

Traded all of what we brought with us for a stack of ammunition (various calibres) and some medicine for radiation treatment. Three Dog himself came down from his lofty abode in the GNR studio to thank us, and tossed in a few fresh Brahmin steaks from his own supply. He gave Brick a pair of sunglasses and offered to play us a request on the show, acting magnanimous and elusive as usual. I let Butcher choose; much to my surprise, he decided on a piece of classical music. I didn't recognise the tune, but we marched back to the Ranger compound with the tune blaring from Brick's pocket radio.

08-06-2277

08-07-2277

Returned from an overnight hike out to the abandoned supermarket outside the city to find a small group of raiders trying to break into the compound. We took them by surprise and wiped them out easily, making today very profitable. The raiders didn't have much on them but we salvaged their weapons and ammunition, plus the gear and food we scavenged from the supermarket were plentiful. Got into a scuffle with the muties in the building, but they were outgunned and didn't pose much of a threat. Butcher took a rifle bullet in the arm, but he'll live. He refused to wear a sling, digging the round out in the field with his knife before dosing himself with a stimpack. I was impressed; he made a joke about girls liking tough guys, and Brick gave us a funny look.

It's a shame we don't really have a computer expert on the team with Donovan gone. Carver is a good quartermaster and has proved himself adept at tinkering with electronics, but we couldn't hack the security terminal controlling the storeroom door in the market. A shame, since there's likely a decent amount of unspoiled food in there.

08-08-2277

There was a punch-up between Butcher and Brick over breakfast today. He claimed she had taken too large a share of cereal, which she denied vehemently, at which point her continued to accuse her and she lashed out. I was in the storeroom when I heard the yelling, but Carver had broken up the fight before I arrived by restraining Brick and talking Butcher down. They both got in a few punches, leaving Butcher with a black eye and Brick with a bruised cheek – nothing serious. They both apologised and reconciled afterwards, and Carver testified that Brick had indeed taken too much food. I awarded them both a demerit for disorderly behaviour, and gave Carver a small pay rise.

Butcher came to my room tonight. He knew we both wanted it but I turned him away, told him to come back when he'd rid himself of that demerit. I know I shouldn't pull rank in bed, but it was kind of fun.

08-09-2277

Brick, Carver and I journeyed out to the Falls Church metro station and then Marigold station. Despite their opposing personalities, they get along well. Probably because he's perfectly content to fight defensively and pick off the targets that Brick doesn't mow down with Eugene. We cleared the tunnels completely, in an attempt to make our mapping attempts easier when we travel to the far west side of D.C. – Butcher and I agreed that our next major mapping target should be the industrial area around Bailey's Crossroads. We know the Outcasts have a base in the area though, so we'll have to watch ourselves. Idiots assume that anyone wearing power armour is a Brotherhood soldier. Butcher almost lost an arm the last time we tried to hail an Outcast patrol.

Marigold station is a no-go area. The settlement there, Greyditch, has been totally overrun by aggressive fire ants. Seems that everyone is dead or gone. I took a burn to the left side, scorched my armour and singed my face a bit, but I think we got off lightly. Butcher told me it was lucky I wasn't a looker in the first place. I slapped him; not too hard, though. Just in a friendly way.

I don't think he meant it.

08-10-2277

Our study of old street maps recovered from the Museum of Science shows that there were at least three large factories near Bailey's Crossroads. How many of those are still standing is anyone's guess, but it'll be interesting to find out. Looks to be a major operation, so we're packing supplies for an overnight stay. Spent all day preparing gear, then we shared the Brahmin meat for dinner. Best meal I've had in a long time; we all raised a glass to Three Dog's generosity. I made sure the team got a good night's sleep.

08-11-2277

08-12-2277

The expedition was very successful. While the hike through the metro was more eventful than we had hoped (seems it's nigh-impossible to completely clear the tunnels of feral ghouls), the only resistance we met in the industrial area was a handful of psychopathic raiders – disorganised, savage and unskilled. There were more of them camped inside the Red Racer factory, but again they proved to be a minor threat. In addition to mapping a large area, which should rake in a fair few caps from our client, the ammunition and equipment we scored was both abundant in quality and quantity. Carver was overjoyed at the tools and materials we came across while scavenging through the assembly lines. Butcher and I decided to raid the Nuka-Cola facility together at a later date, purely because we were completely weighed down on the return journey.

We stayed clear of the Outcasts' outpost. A pair of soldiers were exterminating mole rats and radroaches not far from the station, but we gave them a wide berth and they paid us no heed.

08-13-2277

I spent most of today sorting through our spoils from yesterday's trip with Carver. He's organised to a fault (his sleeping area is spotless, unlike the rest of us), but it came in handy when categorising everything we had found. Almost everything that wasn't meds, tools or bullets will be going in our backpacks the next time the caravans are at Rivet City. There'll be a big cap bonus for the squad when we trade all of this off. Spirits are high – Brick is being uncharacteristically amiable, and I'm fairly certain I heard Butcher singing outside the compound this morning. He still has that demerit.

08-14-2277

Sent Brick and Carver out to Rivet City today, to find out when the caravan traders will be around and sell whatever they could to the residents at the market. Brick complained that she wouldn't get to shoot anything, but I reminded her that the Jefferson Memorial was home to a large group of Super Mutants and was effectively en-route to the city. That cheered her up no end. There's definitely something wrong with that girl, not that I'm complaining. She's good at what she does.

Butcher and I made our planned journey back out to Bailey's Crossroads and the last mile or so overground to the Nuka-Cola plant. The exterior was deserted save for a few dead bandits and a wounded Yao Guai that made a run for it when it spotted us approaching. Inside the factory was where things got interesting. A dead man was lying in the foyer, and going by the state of his body he had been a recent kill. Butcher prised the shotgun from his hands and stowed it in his pack: it was in good condition, save for the word 'KNEECAPPER' carved into the handle. The rest of the factory was overrun by machines. I don't like fighting robots at the best of times – they're tough and usually packing some serious firepower – but when I turned a corner and saw four Protectrons decked out in Nuka-Cola branding and aiming lasers at me, I won't deny that I panicked a little. I took out the first two with close-range blasts from my own combat shotgun, and then threw myself behind a fallen crate as the other ones advanced. I've seen was beam weaponry does to a person, and I had no desire to become like those people. (Those people are dead now, Reilly.)

I might not have been in any immediate danger, but Butcher came to my rescue anyway, sprinting at them from behind and tackling them both to the ground, shooting one through the head with his magnum and then stomping the other's control module to pieces. The rest of the plant was abandoned and empty, save for a crazy old robot who claimed to be the foreman and then attempted to set fire to Butcher when we failed to produce valid ID cards. We snagged a few bottles of Nuka-Cola, along with a handful of useful equipment and medical supplies found in the factory offices, and then set off for home.

I subtracted the demerit from Butcher's account this evening, and put him back onto full wages. We had sex at midnight.

08-15-2277

Brick is never again allowed to drink Nuka-Cola Quantum. I'd never heard of the stuff before yesterday, but hunting through the plant won us several varieties of the drink. I've never liked Nuka-Cola myself, but Brick drinks it as if it were the only thing between her and eternal life. Whenever we find a bottle lying around, she snaps it up. I'm glad I only showed her a fragment of what we brought back – it's already gone, and I think I can use the rest to reward her for good behaviour. Positive reinforcement and all that. But not the Quantum. Never again.

I don't think Butcher's going to sleep in the same room as her for at least a week. He's lucky I didn't make him fix the door after she started headbutting things.

08-16-2277

Brick and I hiked over to Rivet City to sell the remainder of our loot from Bailey's Crossroads to Crow, the caravan merchant. On the return journey I was treated to a lengthy lecture on the different varieties of Nuka-Cola and their assorted virtues. According to her the best is Nuka-Cola Fusion, but they're incredibly rare. If that stuff is half as strong as Quantum, I'm incredibly glad that she'll probably never get her hands on one.

She reminds me of the loopy girl living out in Girdershade, back when I travelled the Capital Wasteland. I wonder what happened to her.

08-17-2277

Chryslus Building. That's our next mapping target; we'll have to head out to Farragut to get there, since the ruins to the north of the compound are completely impassable. According to reports the building is occupied by Super Mutants, but they aren't too numerous and it's in the heart of an unmapped area, not to mention that fact that it's an office building – I'm hopeful for some decent stuff for us to salvage inside. Carver spent the day slowly climbing to a nearby rooftop before taking some time to snipe the muties in the square outside the compound. Brick reached a sugar crash and lazed around all day, while Butcher and I played cards. He kissed me goodnight.

08-18-2277

I sent Carver and Butcher out on a scouting mission to the D.C. outskirts today, to check out our next location. I took the opportunity to spend the day cleaning the compound's interior, and managed to persuade Brick to help by waving a bottle of Nuka-Cola that I had chilled by stowing it outside overnight. She confided in me that she liked Carver. I was not unduly surprised, although I admit that this is the first time I've known her to show any interest in a man (Eugene doesn't count). I told her to confront him about her feelings – the Wasteland is too unforgiving a place to waste time with all the will-he-won't-he romance used to be about. Apparently.

08-19-2277

Today's expedition to the Chryslus Building was a mixed experience. On one hand, we killed a fair few muties and managed to gather enough ammunition to resupply fully, but on the other hand the building itself was too much of a ruin to provide anything actually useful to us. I found a battered Stealth Boy in the basement which appears to work fine, although Brick is sulking because she caught sight of a bottle of Quantum in one of the office rooms and Butcher shot it before she could do anything. He claimed it was for the good of humanity. I'm not sure if he was joking or not.

In any case, at least the map data is keeping the caps flowing in. We'll have covered every major area of the city before long, though, and the money from assorted bounties and mutant-killing won't be enough. We need to start looking for another big contract.

08-20-2277

Nobody volunteered when I asked for a runner to head for Rivet City and ask around for contracts with decent pay, so I did it myself. An ageing gentleman offered me a sizeable amount of caps for the recovery of some documents in the National Archives, but there were no long-term contracts available for us to take on. I was hoping that the scientists working in the hold would have something they needed someone to get their hands dirty for, but there was nothing. The squad were less than enthused at this news, though I remain optimistic. Carver reminded me that the Regulators might pay us to wipe out units sent by the Talon Mercenaries, but I'm uncertain about making a real enemy of them. We barely survived the last skirmish with their forces. I still blame Brick for that.

08-21-2277

Carver and Butcher requested that we try to raid the National Archives tomorrow. I agreed, but reminded them sharply that we weren't to engage with ghouls or (if possible) Super Mutants in that area. It's more trouble than it's worth, frankly. We'll set out tomorrow afternoon, and then camp the night in the Archives building once it's clear.

Brick didn't seem too impressed, but Carver persuaded her to join us. Apparently books aren't high on her list of important things in life.

08-22-2277

Movement to the Archives delayed by a wave of muties swarming over the square outside the compound. Carver and Butcher took a few potshots but they didn't seem too interested in us. Feels like they're looking for something. I used the extra time to assemble some makeshift equipment for the Archives raid: a few trip mines and some replacement parts for the railway rifle that's been rusting in the storeroom for months. The new model works fine, though I might try and locate some tubing to improve the pressure of the air cylinder.

08-23-2277

The assault on the Archives was an utter failure. Transpires there's a small army of security robots guarding the place, and we were outnumbered and overrun in minutes. The expedition was a waste of time and resources. Butcher is dead. A sentry bot tore him to pieces with its machinegun as he tried to protect the squad. He was brave. Carver died of his wounds this afternoon. Brick flew into a rage when he passed away, storming out of the compound and charging headlong into a crowd of Super Mutants, Eugene spitting hot lead. She hasn't come back yet. The gunfire faded into the distance about half an hour ago.

Perhaps it's time to get out of this business. I hear Rivet City has openings in the security department.

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**I'm not very good at happy endings. Sorry about that. But in all seriousness, please leave a review if you liked it! Or didn't like it, I guess. Criticism always helps! Have a good day, readers.**

**Pixel Katana - Loves bacon, and doesn't own a baby pig.**


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